Titan of the Hunt: Edited
by Lady Artemis - Moon Goddess
Summary: During the final days of the second Giant war, Percy loses the one he loves, his purpose for living. So he asks the gods for a task to challenge him and give him a new purpose. Unfortunately for him, a man hating goddess and friends are going to be gaining a new Guardian. Post MOA. Pertemis. This is the edited version by me. The original is by vPxForerunner x. All credit is theirs.
1. Chapter 1: Bug Stomping

**A/N - Hello. I am Lady Artemis - Moon Goddess.**

 **This story is not mine. It belongs to vPxForerunner x. Any and all plot that is not made by Rick Riordan does not belong to me, only vPx. I am simply rewriting it for grammar and consistency, as well as changing most/all first person to third person. vPx relies heavily on speech, anyway, so I figured I'd add slightly more depth this way.**

 **I might add some parts here or there, but that only serves to add more of a tone for the chapter.**

 **Without further ado, ladies and detestable males, I bring to you Titan of the Hunt: Chapter one.**

* * *

Falling.

Blacking out.

Falling.

Blacking out.

A little screaming thrown in for good measure while falling. Annabeth…

Blacking out.

Wind whistling in his ears…

Falling.

Screaming. Possibly his own.

Darkness.

Falling.

Darkness.

Falling.

Falling.

Darkness.

Screaming, inhumane in origin this time.

Suddenly… nothing.

* * *

Percy awoke, only to find himself in what seemed to be a darkly lit cave with an invisible ceiling. However, recent events told him otherwise. He spied some blonde hair a little ways away beginning to stir, easily visible against the black obsidian ground.

"Annabeth," he asked, concern edging itself into his voice, "are you okay?"

"Other than being in Tartarus in the middle of a war after fighting the mother of all spiders," Annabeth said, "I'm fine, Seaweed Brain."

"No need to get sarcastic, Wise Girl," Percy said, mock hurt in his voice.

"We need a plan if we're to survive this and meet up with the others at the doors," Annabeth said, pointedly ignoring Percy.

"Well, last I checked we don't own a map of the place," Percy began, "which means we either wing it or we have to deal with the locals. Who, I might add, just so happen to be some of the worst monsters known to Olympus and hate me for putting them back down here."

"Not everyone is as well 'liked' as you are," Annabeth commented amusedly. "Hopefully, most of them will be in the world above now that the doors are open. Either that, or they're guarding the doors for Gaia."

As if answering Annabeth's hopes, a nearby pile of boulders began to shift, revealing one injured and very pissed off Arachne who was glaring at the two demigods, eyes full of hate.

"You were saying?" Percy remarked. It came out without warning, resulting in Annabeth turning to stare at him, her face saying the all-too-familiar message of, "Now is not the time."

He gulped, frightened at her expression. "I-It's not my fault," he explained. "Some people get scared. I get sarcastic."

"Like mother, like daughter," Arachne muttered in a hate-filled tone, "both take everything away from me. But now," here, her expression changed to one of manic glee, "I will get my revenge by killing you, in the process ridding my nemesis of her favorite daughter!"

There were few things that truly annoyed Percy, and Arachne happened to discover three of them: betrayal, hurting women, and hurting Percy's friends and family. So as soon as Arachne finished ranting, Percy placed himself between Annabeth and the giant spider-woman, drawing Riptide as he did so. This, however, only served to make her smile wider, if at all possible.

"Ah, yes, the son of Poseidon," she mused, "the mistress has plans for you. I'll capture you after I deal with Athena's spawn."

"Percy," Annabeth whispered frantically, "I have a plan,"

"I'm all ears, Wise Girl," Percy said in the same tone. "Our favorite spider seems to have the patience of one and hasn't moved anything aside from her mouth so far. I can't see that lasting much longer."

"I need you to attack her left legs while I go invisible and attack her right ones. She's already injured, so if we can incapacitate her, we should be able to escape."

"Why not kill her?" Percy asked, confused.

"Because I feel guilty for her," Annabeth said without missing a beat. "My mother made her like this simply out of jealousy. I saw her works in Rome and they were truly as good as mother's."

"Fine," Percy said, dropping the subject. "On three. One, two―"

Just as Annabeth was reaching for her Yankees hat, she found herself entangled in spider web that Arachne had thrown at her, causing Annabeth to stumble and fall, in turn giving Arachne an opening. Seeing Annabeth helpless turned Percy's vision red as he charged the spider queen. When he neared her, she swung at him with her left foreleg, but missed. Percy had already sidestepped to her right anticipating the move, swinging Riptide in a downward arc as he did so. Soon, three legs fell to the ground, severed at the hip. But Percy didn't stop there, no. He proceeded to slice off all of her left legs, ignoring her screams of pain, before returning to Annabeth.

The thread around her was like steel, forcing Percy to use Annabeth's knife that had conveniently fallen to the ground outside of the sticky substance. Soon, all of the threads were broken, the thread easily cut by the celestial bronze blade.

"Percy," Annabeth said in a small voice, "thank you."

"You know me," Percy said in his usual oblivious tone, a goofy grin on his face. "I could never ignore someone in distress. Loyalty is my fatal flaw, rememb―!" Annabeth cut him off with a kiss, leaving him gaping like a fish as per usual.

"Close your mouth, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth ordered. "You'll catch flies, or whatever they have down here. Now, let's deal with Arachne and get out of here."

The spider in question had watched the scene progress, an expression of revulsion and distaste growing on her face with every passing second. Her wounds appeared appeared to be fatal, as evident by her body slowly but steadily crumbling into dust. Seeing this, Annabeth shook her head in dismay, looking at the ground.

"All you had to do was let us pass," she began, regret evident in her voice. "I am truly sorry that this had to happen. What my mother did to you was wrong. You did not deserve this fate, to be stuck forever as a monster." Tears were beginning to brim in her eyes as she continued looking down, but the entire look was lost as she stared at Arachne's look of pure and unadulterated rage. Percy, who was looking at the spider as Annabeth gave her small speech, noticed the look of rage growing with every word uttered out of Annabeth's mouth.

"I don't want your sympathy," Arachne said, shaking in rage. "What I want is your head on a silver platter. But if I can't get it, than I shall curse you. Whenever you think of yourself with a hope of victory, you will lose everything. You will be cut down in place of everything you hold dear. This, daughter of Pallas Athena, I swear on the Styx." And with those last words spoken, Arachne made one final lunge at the two demigods, only to be impaled on Riptide's blade and crumble into nothingness, leaving but a ball of silk in her place.

Annabeth had a shocked look on her face at the death of Arachne, quickly breaking down into tears.

"But why," she said after a moment, tears breaking her speech, "I don't understand why she would do that…"

"Annabeth," Percy began after a moment of silence, trying to reassure his companion. "It's okay. She chose her own fate. Her ramblings were nothing, only words of a mad woman." He tried to sound sincere but he wasn't so sure himself. It was the rumble, the distant echo of thunder when she had sworn on the River of Hate that was worrying him. Despite that, he swore to himself that he'd protect Annabeth. No one was taking her from him.

"Come on, let's get out of here," Percy said, looking at the ball of silk. Annabeth nodded limply, and they began their journey into the dark abyss.

* * *

They walked around for what felt like days, encountering little in the way of monsters apart from the occasional hellhound or empousa. They would immediately attack them and quickly fall prey to Anaklusmos or Annabeth's knife. Speaking of Annabeth, the girl still seemed shaken by the encounter with Arachne, muttering and mumbling to herself about her actions, trying to find understanding in them. When Percy asked her about it, she would stare at him blankly for a moment before flushing and denying any problems. And, only like someone as dense as Percy could do, he simply shrugged and continued walking.

"So," Percy asked after a lengthy amount of silence one 'day', "do you have any idea who we could ask for directions in this place?" Percy asked this mainly to break the tense mood, but to his surprise, Annabeth seemed to actually think about it.

"Well," she said after a few 'minutes', "we would have to hope that we don't find one of the usual mindless drones with death wishes. This place answers to one master and one master only, the Primordial, Tartarus. I would like to avoid him and his followers personally, though."

"Why wouldn't he help us?" Percy asked. "After all, it's Gaia who is the enemy, and she's a primordial."

"Gods, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth explained exasperatedly, "you can be so ignorant. There may be no love between the two now, but you forget that the Giants are the children of Gaia and Tartarus. He may not want Gaia to win, but surely he won't stand against his own children."

Percy replied in his usual eloquent way. "Oh."

The two continued to walk in a comfortable silence for a short while before they began to hear the sound of running water in the distance. To Percy, a son of Poseidon, this sounded like an boost in their chances. After another amount of time that to them felt like a half an hour, they could see pale light reflecting off the surface of a slow-flowing river. What caught Percy's attention was the debris flowing in the current, items that he had recognized from his first visit to the underworld back on his quest to retrieve Zeus' Master Bolt. Things like diplomas, love letters, flowers, and other mementos of broken dreams cut short by untimely death or general hopelessness.

"The River Styx. It flows into Tartarus after leaving the underworld," Annabeth stated factually, as if Percy wouldn't recognize.

Her words disturbed a silhouetted figure that had been sitting by the shore of the river. The figure turned to reveal the form of a man in his late fifties with grey and white hair. What caught Percy's attention, however, was the fact the he was around ten feet tall. His entire body was covered in scars as if it has been sliced apart. Percy's eyes made their way up the man's body, stopping on his face. The gold eyes Percy's own sea green ones met were off putting, to say the least. He had only ever seen them filled with hate and a promise of pain, but now they were filled with weariness and regret.

"Percy, do you know who that is?" Annabeth asked. Clearly, Percy remarked mentally, she had not seen the eyes of the man just yet. Percy nodded to confirm her question, as did the figure to confirm his suspicion.

"Hello, grandfather," Percy called out to the tall figure.

* * *

 **A/N - And that, ladies, is chapter one. Oh, and you males, too, I suppose, not that I'd expect you to read at all.**

 **Let me reiterate the fact that this is not mine. It, as well as the ideas behind it, belong to vPxForerunner x.**

 **As of right now, August 5, 2017, there are 105 chapter of vPx's story. As of right now, August 5, 2017, there is one chapter on here. If I stick to a somewhat daily schedule, well, this should be finished on November 18, 2017, if vPx doesn't upload by then.**

 **Don't worry in the future if this doesn't get updated. I can't update if he doesn't. I'm expecting at least two chapters from vPx by then.**

 **Apart from this chapter and a few other key ones, the A/Ns won't be that lengthy. If they do appear, make sure to read them. They are important in one way or another.**

 **A special message to vPx, if they read this: If you want me to take this down, just ask.**

 **Let me know what you think. Despite my… known preference of the fairer sex, I can and will take advice from the more brutal sex. Don't let your gender stop you from leaving a review.**

 **And now, I bid you all adieu.**


	2. Chapter 2: Overdue Birthday Presents

**A/N - All rights for this belong to vPxForerunner x and Rick Riordan, respectively.**

 **Remember, all of this has shifted from the first person perspective to the third person perspective.**

 **Also, to TheYoLOMan: You did review, and I said that I had no problem with filthy males reviewing this.**

* * *

"Hello, Perseus," the figure with golden eyes said. "I didn't expect to ever find you down here. Did that upstart son of mine feel threatened by you after defeating me and throw you down here as well?"

"What? Percy, that's Kronos? How did you know?" Annabeth asked Percy indignantly. Percy's guess as to why she used that tone was annoyance towards him at how he had worked out his identity before her, especially without ever directly meeting him physically in his own body.

"His eyes are gold," Percy explained, much to Kronos' chagrin, "and only one individual has golden eyes that I know of. The Lord of Time. He had the same eyes when he possessed Luke."

"Peace, children," Kronos said, reminding the two that he was there. "I do not wish to hurt you anymore. I have had time to analyze what happened during the second Titanomachy and I admit you are worthy of respect. I may hold little regard for your parents and the other Gods, but your selflessness to defend a family that treats you as little more than tools to be used whenever they have a need or want for something is quite something. As for my form," here, he gestured to his body, which was in one piece, "when I was defeated on Olympus I was almost at full power inside your friend, and as he died my essence was sent straight back to Tartarus almost fully healed. The only parts not healed were the scars from my first defeat."

"You didn't leave us with much of a choice, did you?" Annabeth rebutted. "Help our parents and Olympus, or be hunted by you and the other Titans for amusement while the mortals would have suffered. You didn't help them during the fourth age, why would you help them now?"

"True, we were never very benevolent lords to the world," Kronos agreed, nodding his head. "We generally used it as we saw fit. Look at what I did to the Elder Cyclopes and the Hetechrondeires after overthrowing my father Ouranos. Even that outcast centaur son of mine, Chiron. My immediate response to any problem was to simply cast it away or destroy it, which invariably led to the first Titanomachy. All because of my own paranoia…" The Titan trailed off here as if reminiscing about better times.

"Yeah, trying to eat your kids normally results in pissing them off, not to mention their mother." Percy snarkily added.

'I had never considered Rhea," Kronos admitted, "only my own interests. So when she betrayed me, it had never occurred to me that it would happen. I never considered being overthrown until it was happening even though I did the same, despite my father's warning. However," he clapped his hands once for theatrical effect, "I am not here to talk to you about ancient history or your parents, I wanted to talk to you about the future. I know you are fighting my mother as well as my bastard half-brothers. I may not like the current surface world and the mortals on it, but at least they acknowledge their history and remember the titans. If Gaia took over she would destroy all civilization and revert back to nature which would cause most immortals to fade, including me and my brothers. We may have most of our domains integrated with the Olympians, but we still receive strength from the mortals belief in them. Gaia's victory would benefit no one. Therefore," he smiled a truly sincere smile, "I give you an offer. I will help you get to the doors of death by giving you my power over time."

There was a brief moment of silence for the words to sink in.

"Wait," Percy said, incredulous. "You spend four years trying to kill me and destroy everything I love. After I defeat you and we meet again, you want to help me? Forgive me for being skeptical about this, but… why me?"'

"Simple," Kronos said, still smiling at the boy's naïveté. "After you defeated me, I saw what the Gods offered you and you turned it down to help others, to force the Gods to admit their faults. It was almost worth the whole experience to see that look on Zeus' face when you said no. It had truly never occurred to him that anyone would refuse that offer. You are the most selfless individual I have ever witnessed. Only my wife, Rhea, and my daughter, Hestia, of all the Titans and Gods, would have ever even considered saying no. Also," suddenly, his smile turned more melancholy and his form flickered slightly, "the defeat cost me more than you would think. This physical form is all I am able to maintain now. I will soon fade, most likely, and I wish to buy a chance of redemption before I leave. Without help, you will never reach the doors in time."

"Percy, you can't seriously consider this!" Annabeth pleaded spitefully. "He's evil! Remember Luke? He used him! Hades, even Ethan saw how bad he truly was and Kronos killed him without a second's thought!"

"Annabeth, he wants to help us," Percy said, "and I don't see much of that happening down here. If we want to get out of here we are going to need every advantage we can get, especially if we want to get back to the others and go home."

"Do not cut your nose to spite your face, daughter of Athena," the old Titan cut in. "I may be the Titan Lord of Time, but I myself am running out of it. If you want my help, now is the time. Or is your hubris too great, my granddaughter? That you would refuse the help of an old man on his proverbial deathbed?"

"No," Annabeth said, "but Percy, there must be another way. Maybe if we―"

"No, Annabeth," Percy interrupted, irritated. "We have no choice. We need him to help us if we want to get out of here." She opened and closed her mouth before deciding on the latter option, ending the matter for the moment. Percy turned to Kronos. "So how would you be able to give me your power?"

"It's simple," the Titan answered nonchalantly. "I will transfer my domains over to you, and you will become the mortal Lord of Time."

"Wait, will I become a mortal Titan? How does that work, exactly?" Percy asked, confused.

"Yes," he said, answering Percy's first question, before moving onto the second. "You will remain the same except for some minor cosmetic differences, but I will fuse the time aspect of my essence with your own and you will become partially a Titan causing you to become immortal. However, you will still be able to die in battle. It is very similar to what my granddaughter's hunters have. However, I would not tell the gods about the Titan part straight away. Your father and uncle may react badly to my offer. I would advise waiting until after the war to tell them."

"Very well, grandfather," Percy said respectfully, "I will accept your offer to become the Titan Lord of Time."

"Thank you, Perseus," Kronos said as his form flickered more violently. "As much as this pains me to say, your father is lucky to have you. Perhaps they may stand a chance against my mother. I, Kronos, Titan King of Time, hereby relinquish my domains to Perseus Jackson, son of Poseidon." As he finished speaking, a stream of gold energy flowed from him to Percy and the latter man suddenly felt stronger. Percy also knew the exact time and date, realizing that he and Annabeth had been in Tartarus for almost a week. When Kronos was done, he was barely visible, almost a shade of himself.

"All hail Perseus Jackson, Lord of Time," Kronos joked raspingly.

Percy gave a sad smile to the former Lord of Time before turning towards Annabeth. She gasped as the two made eye contact.

Percy was quickly on alert. He pulled out Riptide before asking Annabeth what was wrong.

"Y-Your eye," she said, pointing to Percy's left eye. "It's golden!"

"As I said," Kronos explained, "there are some cosmetic differences. Now, before I fade, I have more to say. As you noticed when you arrived here, beside us is the river Styx. I am aware you recently lost its blessing. If you ask her nicely she may help you in this war as well. Don't think I have forgotten about you as well, daughter of Athena. There is an army between you and the doors and Perseus, my blessing and the Styx aside, would have a hard time escaping, not to mention fighting. I would advise you both take a dip. Finally, I have a gift for you, Perseus."

As Kronos said those last words, a bright flame appeared between the dying immortal and Percy. It quickly transformed into a scythe made of two metals, forged together.

"Hestia has agreed to return this to me to give to you," the Titan continued. "She is the only God or Goddess I truly respect, as she sticks to her promises, unlike her siblings. She is aware of what transpired here but has sworn on the River Styx to not reveal anything until you do. And as for you, Miss Chase, a pair of hunting knives composed of Celestial Bronze, Imperial Gold, and Stygian Iron. They should help you reach the doors, although I would not touch them until you return from the Styx." As he mentioned the blades, a shadow appeared and faded, revealing the gleaming knives.

Percy reached down and picked up the handle of the scythe, only for it to change into a familiar hand and half sword. "Backbiter," he whispered. Kronos smiled yet another sad smile at the name.

"That it once it was," Kronos agreed, "but like me, it requires to change its destiny and forge a new name for itself. Now, to reach the Doors of Death, you must follow the Styx upstream until you reach the walls of Tartarus then keep the river on your left side. You will eventually find an old 'friend' of yours, Perseus, who will guide you the rest of the way."

"What do you mean 'an old friend'?" Percy asked. "Is it an old friend, or an old enemy?"

"Both," the fading Titan replied cryptically, as many immortals excel at. Percy wondered if this whole conversation happened just so Kronos could say that one word.

"Thank you, Lord Kronos, for your gifts and assistance. I will inform the Olympians of your passing. I'm quite sure they would like to learn of it." Annabeth said after bowing to the almost faded Titan.

"Very well," Kronos said indifferently. "I wish you the best of luck in the war against my mother. I must now go and ask my father for his forgiveness in the void. Enjoy the rest of your life, heroes…" Kronos' figure slowly faded into the ambient darkness, tears threatening to fall out of both demigods' eyes. They had only just warmed up to him, and now, he was gone, never to return. The worst part of it was that neither Percy nor Annabeth knew why they felt the way they did.

"Well," Percy said, in an attempt to break the somber mood, "that was unexpected."

Annabeth sighed. "You are the same old Seaweed Brain, Titan or not."

"Just one last thing to do while we are here," Percy said as he took her hand, walking towards the river.

"Are you sure that this is a good idea?" Annabeth asked, an apprehensive look on her face.

"When have I ever had an idea that hasn't worked? Other than Cerberus and the stick, obviously." Percy asked rhetorically. Annabeth remained still, but Percy knew that she was quickly running through all of their adventures, trying to find another. He cut her thoughts off by kissing her, causing the both of them to fall into the dark river.

* * *

 **A/N - And that is chapter two.**

 **I now that I said that I would do this daily, but I may not actually do it.**

 **Regardless, the next chapter should be up tomorrow or the next day. Most likely tomorrow.**

 **Bonus game: If you can find my main account and tell me the name of it, I will give you a shout-out in the chapter after you do it, as well as permanently put your name on my profile. The only one exempt from this is vPx, as I've already messaged them about this account.**

 **Also: Really, guys?! This many favorites and follows for one chapter?! I feel so loved… This is awe―**

 **[Damn it, Apollo! Get off of my computer!]**

 **Ugh…**


	3. Chapter 3: Taking a Bath

**A/N - All rights for this belong to vPxForerunner x and Rick Riordan, respectively.**

 **Before you read this, I just want to make something clear: I will not, I repeat not be putting a message for a POV change. You, the reader, will have to work out the context and figure it out. Or, you could refer back to the original text. Either works.**

* * *

The last thing Annabeth remembered was trying to find all of Percy's stupid ideas. Then he cut her off with a kiss, tipping the both of them off the riverbank and into the water. When Percy had explained how he had felt when he had first taken a 'dip in the Styx,' as he had called it, he described it as the most painful experience of his life. To someone who has been stabbed, crushed by the weight of the sky, poisoned and blown up, (need she go on?) it describes something you don't end up thinking "Yeah! I want to do that too!" But the idiot had given her no choice. Annabeth was going to make Percy suffer after this.

However, Annabeth realized something strange very quickly. She felt fine except for the lack of air usually found underwater unless you were a child of a Sea God. She could see clear around herself. Percy was visible next to her but was mouthing words to someone she couldn't hear nor see. He seemed quite irritated by the look on his face. As she kicked towards him Annabeth grasped his hand, drawing his attention from whatever was distracting him. It also, to the girl's relief, caused him to create an air bubble around her so she could breathe.

"Percy," Annabeth asked once she could breathe, "what's the matter?"

A disgruntled look quickly surfaced on Percy's face, his smile turning into something more like a grimace. "I've been talking to Lady Styx. She isn't too happy about me losing her blessing, not to mention trying again for it." He turned back towards where he was looking and Annabeth, who followed his gaze, had to stifle a gasp. She could now see a pale-skinned lady in a simple white chiton in the water a short distance away, black hair swirling around in the opalescent liquid. Her expression was one of many emotions, regret being the most prominent as evidenced by her scrunched eyebrows. Annabeth quickly came to the conclusion that this was the personification of the river, Lady Styx herself.

Annabeth's eyes quickly filled with a measure of concern. "Well, what does she want us to do about it?" she questioned. "Can we just leave instead?"

Percy shook his head, letting out a small sigh. "No, that's just it. She said that she'll give us her blessing, but there will also be terms this time. I don't think that you're going to like them." His eyes gained a faraway look as he recounted his encounter with the River Goddess.

* * *

When Percy first took a dive into the River Styx outside of Tartarus with Nico before the Battle of Manhattan, all that had happened was Achilles warning him of the risks, that fame and glory weren't all it was cracked up to be. Percy fell in as soon as he stepped into the water. The pain was too much. It felt to him like he was taking a bath in sharp glass fragments and rusty nails. This time, however, he felt absolutely fine. It threw him into slight confusion, unfortunately making him lose hold of poor , the voice of a woman started to assault his ears as if coming from every direction at once.

The voice gave an eerie reminder of Kronos, what with it sounding like nails on a chalkboard. It was sad in more ways than one. "Perseus Jackson!" it―she roared. "What are you doing in my river again?! I only give my blessing once!"

Percy, always oblivious to other people and their feelings, quickly gained a confused expression. Why is there another person in here? He wondered, before realizing who this might be. "Wait, are you the spirit of the river?"

"Of course, you foolish son of Poseidon!" she responded in a more exasperated tone, quickly clenching and unclenching her hands. "Just like your rivers on the surface, we rivers of the Erebus are ruled by immortals as well, even if Lethe is a bit useless and never remembers the meetings. But that's part of her nature, I suppose." Styx sighed, rubbing her temples, most likely wondering how the demigod in front of her could take her so off-track. She shook her head. "That is beside the point. What are you doing in my river, child of the sea?"

Percy quickly explained their situation, leaving out nothing except for the fall. He did not want to recount the details of that. "My friend and I are in need of the Curse of Achilles to help us fight the giant horde and help the Gods close the Doors of Death, as well as to stop Gaia from ending the world," he finished.

As Percy said the words 'Curse of Achilles,' Styx's mostly neutral expression turned into one of mild annoyance and regret. "It is not a curse!" she exclaimed, annoyed at the impertinent half-blood. "It is a blessing! One that I rarely give as it is! That fool Achilles managed to get himself killed in the end because a God decided to find his weak point, Luke Castellan killed himself, and you lost it in the Little Tiber. If it wasn't for my blessing, each of you would have died long before your time. Achilles would not have been able to massacre the Trojans for years on end, Luke would have died from Kronos' essence filling him, and you have been killed by Euryale and Stheno after you left the wolf house."

Percy, in a brilliant moment of true wisdom, decided that getting the invulnerability that Lady Styx offered was more important than a petty disagreement. "Okay," he relented, "I admit that it was really useful in the long run. But the point still stands that we need your help if we're going to save Olympus and get out of this pit." Percy was hoping to end the argument here, trying to sound as sincere as possible.

Styx seemed to have an internal discussion with herself about the pros and cons of giving her blessing twice before sighing in defeat. To Percy, it was just a brief silence, but Styx's lack of concentration (or perhaps it was becoming more focused) caused her to start to become visible to Percy. "Fine. I will make an exception just this once. But there will be conditions to the 'Curse of Achilles,' as you so ignorantly call it."

A frown made itself apparent on Percy's face as he began to make out the figure in the dark water. "What do you mean, 'conditions'?"

When Styx started to speak again, the voice that Percy had heard came from one direction instead of from all sides like it was prior to the River Goddess' internal argument. "There are three conditions. The first: if you break any oath on my river you will die. On top of that, you will not go to the underworld entrance when it happens. You will come to my river and spend eternity with me.

"Condition two: if either of you were to die while bearing my blessing, the other will lose most of theirs. Suffice it to say, it will become intermittent, or, for your small brain, I will only protect the survivor when I feel like it.

"The final condition: your 'friend,' as you call her, will not know where her mortal point is. I will select a point at random and it is up to her to be careful. You, boy, will have the same weak point as before."

Just as she finished, Styx idly noting his flinch when she said 'boy,' Annabeth had grabbed Percy's arm. He turned to look at her and saw that her face was quickly changing colors due to oxygen deprivation. He quickly created a bubble of air around her, to her obvious gratitude, not that the air down here was much good.

Annabeth decided to ask Percy a few questions, much to Percy's irritation. But that was one of the things he'd come to love about Annabeth.

After she'd taken a few breaths, Annabeth hit Percy with the first question. "Percy, what's the matter?"

A disgruntled look quickly surfaced on Percy's face, his indecision on telling her showing. Somehow, Annabeth didn't notice this, so he decided to tell her. "I've been talking to Lady Styx," he said, grimacing. "She isn't too happy about me losing her blessing, not to mention trying again for it." He turned back towards Lady Styx and Annabeth, who followed his gaze, had to stifle a gasp. Percy rolled his eyes; she's gotten so easily surprised today, he thought. I wonder why?

Percy looked back at Annabeth, who seemed to be trying to figure out who this was. Then, her eyes figuratively gleamed, her obviously now knowing who the figure in the gloom was.

"Well," she asked immediately, "what does she want us to do about it? Can we just leave instead?"

Percy shook his head, sighing. Why was Annabeth acting so… not-smart today? "No, that's just it. She said that she'll give us her blessing, but there will also be terms this time. I don't think that you're going to like them."

Percy quickly explained the three conditions that Styx offered as an insurance of sorts. Annabeth, like a good listener, didn't interrupt Percy. Much. When he had finished, Annabeth decided to give her spiel on it.

"Well, I have no problem with the first two points. We should be able to deal with them. Avoid breaking promises is doable, and don't die… well, we've done a great job of that so far for years. But why can't I know my weak point? How am I supposed to defend myself if I don't know what I'm defending? It could be anywhere!" As the girl finished, she sounded very indignant to Percy about it being not fair. And once again, in another flash of abnormal wisdom, a plan generated in his head.

"Annabeth we have no choice if we want to get out of here. I will stick by your side and make sure nothing can hurt you, and maybe we can find your mortal point once you have it by trial and error." He tried to sound reassuring but seemed to be failing epically by the look on her face which showed relative unease at my phrase of 'trial and error.' In her mind, there were only facts. Percy guessed that it was Athena's fault.

He decided to change tactics. "Look on the bright side! You will be the fourth person ever to receive the curse!" He was hoping that he could trick her by using her sense of pride. Judging by the look on her face quickly changing, he was succeeding. "Try and avoid open combat. Use hit and run tactics like before. No one will even be able to hit you."

Annabeth looked like she was about to speak, but hesitated slightly. She shook her head. "F-Fine, but we're sticking together from now on. I don't want to take any more blades meant for your back, like the one back on the bridge." She gave a mock grimace. "Gods, I still feel that now…"

Styx decided that this was a great time to speak up. "Very well. You might want to brace yourself. This could hurt a little, as you definitely remember, Perseus." As soon as she said those final words, Percy lost sense of everything aside from pain. Despite that, he held Annabeth as tightly as he could. If this were in another time, another place, he thought sadly, I might've joked about how I might've crushed her.

* * *

Annabeth still couldn't believe the river was holding out on such important information, but then she remembered that she would be famous just for bearing the curse, as well as everything else she had done. Then again, pride was her fatal flaw, as she remembered from her travel to the Sea of Monsters when she heard the Sirens song. Hubris... Olympus could be rebuilt dozens of times, but fame was eternal. Besides, she knew, Percy's fatal flaw will drive him to protect me no matter what.

She was still thinking this over when she heard the river tell them to brace themselves and then it hit me: the pain. It was like nothing that she had ever felt,. Nothing could have prepared her for the full force of the river. All she knew was excruciating pain, as if her nerves were on fire. Her whole body wanted to curl up and die. Suddenly, she noticed a new feeling around her chest as Percy grabbed her by the waist and held her tight. She began to see images of my friends and family: first her siblings at Camp Half-Blood, then her mortal brothers Matthew and Bobby with her stepmother and her father, then Athena and the look of pride on her face as the Goddess made Annabeth the architect of Olympus, then Thalia and Luke back in the 'old days,' and finally Percy, his unruly black hair blowing in an imaginary breeze, his sea green eyes eye and golden eye that still surprised her looking directly at her before he kissed her and said two words.

"Wake up."

Annabeth woke up to find herself on the shores of the river with Percy leaning over her. He looked on edge, but only before he noticed her eyes were open. He pulled her into a tight hug that could have―should have―crushed a Cyclops. Point to note, my chest is not vulnerable, Annabeth thought.

After an eternity, he released her, his oblivious grin displaying itself prominently. "I was so worried! You were in the river for a lot longer than I was! Even Lady Styx wasn't sure for a while!"

"Hades, why did you want to do that again?" Annabeth asked, both impressed and incredulous at the same time. "That was worse than holding the sky."

Percy looked at her, sheepish. "It wasn't so bad this time…" he answered.

The two looked back to the river to see the figure of Lady Styx floating above the surface. Annabeth could make it out to be a very beautiful woman with long black hair that contrasted deeply with her pale white skin. She was even paler than Hades, in her opinion, but then again at least he ventured to the surface once in awhile. The River Styx began in Erebus and ended in Tartarus. Not a lot of sunlight on that course, she supposed, chuckling.

"Remember my conditions, heroes," Styx said with a grim look. "As much as I would like company, it would be a shame to see you again." With that, she faded below the water, never to be seen again for quite some time.

* * *

Well, I'm glad that was over with, Percy thought. He couldn't help but be worried about Annabeth, though. To not know your weak spot sucks majorly, and Percy promised himself to do everything he could to protect her. He had been so worried when she had taken almost an hour longer to wake up than he himself did. And although it did feel good to always know the time, it was bad to know that this diversion had taken a full day in the real world. They were running out of time if both of them were going to reach the others in time.

They traveled back to where Kronos had faded to retrieve their gifts. Annabeth was now able to retrieve the blades despite the Stygian Iron due to essence being protected from the blades power to absorb souls like Nico's and Hades' blades. Percy felt a little jealous―the knives looked cool with the three metals interweaving in a triple helix from hilts to points.

As Percy retrieved Backbiter, he noticed a subtle difference from before. It was now sheathed in Celestial Bronze with Imperial Gold inlaid letters, which unfortunately took a while for the demigod to decipher to to his dyslexia. A half an hour, to be exact.

"Kronos wielded me in retribution," it read, "Perseus wields me in the hope of repenting for my sins. My name is Maelstrom."

Percy looked down at the blade in his hands in a new light, finally and truly understanding the last words of the Titan King. He secretly hoped that he could help both of their legacies to be greater than what they had been. However, the new name of Percy's sword got him back to thinking about Annabeth's knives and thinking of a name for them.

"Percy," Annabeth said in an annoyed tone, "you have been staring at that hunk of metal forever."

Percy gave a yelp of surprise, realizing it had been almost another half an hour. Dyslexia sucks, Percy thought. Why couldn't the engraving be in Greek?

He hefted the blade only find a Greek inscription down the flat of the sheath on the farther side. Perhaps I really am a Seaweed Brain sometimes, he wondered. Percy decided to show the Greek inscription to Annabeth. She looked surprised but also seemed to be content, as if finally believing Kronos had meant well in the end.

"Annabeth," Percy began, "I was thinking…. Maybe you should name your knives, seeing as I have Riptide and Maelstrom. They are pretty unique as far as weapons go and deserve a name to be remembered by."

Annabeth nodded in agreement. "I suppose…. But I don't know anything that fits. Should I name them individually or as a pair? I could call them anything but I can't think of anything that fits."

Her reply surprised Percy. Normally, she would know something like that instantly, in his opinion. After all, she was Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom. That was when it struck Percy like lightning―the perfect name.

"Annabeth! I know one that fits you great!"

The girl in question looked to her companion expectantly. "Well, go on, then! We haven't got all day."

"How about Chasing Wisdom?" Percy suggested. "After all, your surname is Chase and, well, your mom is Athena. So how about it?"

She looked at him, surprised, before a smile began to fill her face, clearly warming up to the idea. She leapt at Percy and kissed me. He was glad the curse let us feel some things, otherwise their future would be awfully boring.

When they separated, they decided what to do with their new weapons. Annabeth strapped her knives to her belt so both could be drawn simultaneously. Percy was left with a bit of a dilemma as he was holding essentially a five foot long from hilt to tip broadsword. He could either put it at his waist and it would brush against the floor, or he could strap the sheath to his back so that the hilt was behind his head and the blade ended at his knees. It would be a pain if he was to sit down, but in combat it would allow the sheath to act as armor for his weak point, one thing he sadly lacked at the moment. Percy decided to favor this idea.

"Percy," Annabeth suggested, "how about we get out of here? I have enough memories of this place to last me a lifetime."

She gestured towards the way Kronos had suggested, following the Styx upstream to the walls of Tartarus. Percy nodded his head in agreement, and the two began the trek in silence as they considered everything that had happened that day, or what passed for it in Tartarus, where time acted strangely. Or so it seemed. Annabeth finally asked something that had been bothering him for a while.

"Percy, who do you think will be waiting to help us? Kronos said that he was both a friend and an enemy. What does that mean?"

The demigod admitted that even though he had a few ideas, none of them seemed right. Many had pretended to be our friends only to betray us. He immediately thought of Luke, but Nico had assured him that the son of Hermes had tried for rebirth after being given Elysium when Percy asked of his fate. There had been a few others, such as Ethan Nakamura or Circe, but none seemed right, either. Perhaps Percy was looking at this from the wrong angle. Maybe it was an enemy who had become friends with them. But the son of Poseidon could not remember that many, and certainly not one who would be in Tartarus to help them.

After a few hours, they could hear the sound of cascading water ahead. Suddenly, the gloom parted, revealing steep cliffs as high as the eye could see. From above the craggy rock faces, the Styx was rushing, the painful water falling into a deep pool before flowing ever onward. They began to turn right, but Percy took one final look at the river to see Lady Styx looking towards them with a sad look on her face. Percy felt sorry for her, to be forever stuck in the underworld, or worse―only having visitors when they wanted something or as punishment for broken oaths, which was normally gods who she was unable to punish much anyway.

As Percy and Annabeth followed the bluffs, the terrain became flatter and the fog became clearer, allowing them to see a fair distance. They could make out a large figure about a kilometer away fighting a small army of monsters. The two decided to hurry, just in case it was one their friends, or the Gods needing their help, or the Gods searching for them, or even their mysterious contact. As the two half-bloods approached, Percy could make out the figure. The figure was clad in black armor and wielding a massive spear in both hands, however it was bleeding golden ichor from multiple points under its armor, as although it seemed able to hold off the attackers, there were hundreds of them with the occasional one getting a lucky strike. As it turned to impale a hellhound that had skirted around it from behind, Percy caught sight of its face and understood Kronos' cryptic reference. And why Annabeth had no idea. After all, she hadn't been there when Hades' sword was stolen.

"Percy do you know who that is?" Annabeth asked, hoping Percy would know. "He is obviously an immortal. I don't recognize him from the Gods, yet Kronos said we would."

"Yeah, I do," Percy replied. "And we need to help him."

The son of the sea began running towards the figure who had become locked in combat with Percy's favourite monster, the son of Pasiphae himself. He sprinted between the two figures before upper cutting the Minotaur straight in the jaw, staggering the half-bull back to the rest of the horde who still approached, albeit more wearily now. Some of the Empousa seemed to whisper amongst themselves, causing the advancement to halt as whatever rumor was passed around. As Percy looked around, he recognized some of the other monsters, such as Geryon the Rancher and Kelli the Empousa from Goode High School.

The dark armored giant of a man finally turned to look down at Percy in the eyes, gaining a surprised look on his scarred face.

"Nice entrance," he said in a booming voice. "I am glad to see you have finally arrived. And I see you have spoken to my brother already, Lord Perseus."

The newly made lord turned back to the monster horde, who seemed to be parting for something behind them. Percy decided to give the giant a proper greeting.

"Nice to see you too, Bob."

* * *

 **A/N - Hello again.**

 **The third chapter (this one) is significantly longer than the previous two, although that isn't the reason for my being late on this. But that's a personal matter.**

 **For the next two weeks, updates will not come out as fast, if at all. Also for personal reasons.**

 **Can anyone guess my primary account? Anyone?**

 **I will see you next time, ladies and pigs.**


End file.
